Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13
अरुंधतीं ध्रुवं चैव विष्णोस्त्रीणिपदानि च । आसन्नमृत्युर्नोपश्येच्चतुर्थं मातृमंडलम्
aruṃdhatīṃ dhruvaṃ caiva viṣṇostrīṇipadāni ca | āsannamṛtyurnopaśyeccaturthaṃ mātṛmaṃḍalam
ज्याचा मृत्यू जवळ आला आहे, त्याला अरुंधती, ध्रुव आणि विष्णूची तीन पावले (त्रिविक्रम) दिसत नाहीत; तसेच चौथे—मातृमंडल (मातृगणांचे वर्तुळ)ही दिसत नाही.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa via celestial non-perception)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Night over Kāśī: a seeker looks up but cannot perceive Arundhatī near Vasiṣṭha, cannot find Dhruva, cannot trace Viṣṇu’s three steps (Trivikrama asterism), and the protective Mātṛ-maṇḍala is absent; below, the glow of temples and the Gaṅgā suggests refuge despite failing sight.
FAQs
As the end approaches, perception itself may alter; therefore, one should secure spiritual merit early through devotion and righteous conduct.
Within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa frame, Kāśī is the implied sacred refuge where preparation for death is oriented toward mokṣa.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; it lists astral-vision omens associated with imminent death.